Coronavirus cases in Egypt rise to 109: PM

CAIRO - 14 March 2020: The number of cases infected with Coronavirus (Covid 2019) in Egypt reached 103, announced Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli in a press conference on Saturday.

“Over the past 10 days, the number of infected people has increased to 109 cases so far, including those who have been cured,” said Madbouli.

He affirmed that the Presidential decree of a two-week suspension of the study at schools and university will come into force as of Sunday, March 15.

Madbouli added that he asked the Ministry of Interior to shut down all educational centers, which are being used for private tutoring, across the nation.

As per the Presidential decree, President Sisi further allocated L.E. 100 billion to fund the anti-Coronavirus strategy and its related precautionary measures.

The decision has been taken after holding a meeting between President Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli.

On March 9, 2020, Egypt’s government banned all large community events and gatherings until further notice to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Coronavirus disease has forced many countries to suspend their flights around the globe after the infected cases reached 145,963 people and 5,440 deaths were reported so far. Five days ago, the virus was announced a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.

“WHO is deeply concerned by the alarming levels of the coronavirus spread, severity & inaction, & expects to see the number of cases, deaths & affected countries climb even higher. Therefore, we made the assessment that COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced in a press conference.